There was no need to play silly dice games for the Gadget Man to figure out his next move. Even though it was January, the outskirts of Baltimore felt like a beautiful Spring day. About 67 degrees to be exact. People were finally starting to believe Al Gore's little spiel about Global warming.
Vincent pumped his legs up and down as his calf muscles throbbed like a beating heart. The Gadget Man pedaled the pricey Mongoose 21 speed bicycle down Pine street like he belonged there. He was traveling incognito once again. The neon green bicycle helmet covered most of his head and the shaded visor concealed the brunt of his face. On his shoulders was his favorite black Jenson book bag packed with just about everything you could imagine.
Pine street was located in Avery county which was just a 10 minute drive from the big city of Baltimore. It was basically a neighborhood for people who couldn't stand living within the heartland of the city but couldn't afford to move out into the nice suburbs. Crazy things happened along Pine street because eccentric drug dealers always found great spots to hide when they eluded the brass chasing them out of the city. The big yellow salt boxes flanking the infamous street often got used for drug transactions. Residents in the neighborhood had empty plastic kitty pools for drug dealers on the run to flip over and hide under.
Vinny liked traveling via a bicycle because they were very hard to identify unlike automobiles which might have bumper stickers or easy to remember license plates.
As he pedaled the bicycle easily down the street he kept his gaze towards the left side of the street and tried to read every house number. Wedged between his left hand and the handle bar was a small piece of paper which read 149 Pine street. There was no need for him to look towards the right because all the odd numbered cottages were to his left.
Vinny just happened to look up towards the sky and noticed a pair of old Nikes hanging from the telephone lines. Drug dealers usually did this for their customers to easily find their homes so they could do business.
When Vinny looked directly across from the dangling sneakers, sure enough he found the dilapidated home he was looking for. 149 Pine street. Evidently since the Gadget Man knew Felix Roberts notorious nickname (Wiggles), his whereabouts were extremely easy to come by. A little asking around of the roaming thugs milling the grungy streets of Baltimore and wallah! Almost everyone knew Wiggles and where he could be found.
Vinny pedaled the Mongoose into the weedy yard and parked it behind a bush by the house. This was purportedly Patricia Fernwell's residence who was supposedly Wiggle's girlfriend. A rusty gutter was hanging halfway off the roof and the whole cottage looked to be made of paper mache.
Vinny kept the bicycle helmet on his head and quickly made his way to the front door. He did the same rhythmic tap-tap knock that teenagers often did thinking it was some secret code.
The door quickly cracked open and Vinny immediately recognized Wiggles bloodshot hairy eyeballs bulging from his head like they were about to pop out maybe.
"Are you here to buy or sell?" Asked Wiggles in a croaky voice. He was used to strangers coming here all the time to buy or sell drugs.
Vincent smiled like a salesman selling faulty vacuum cleaners, he mulled over his sales pitch. It felt so good to see the boy once again after nearly 11 years. The Gadget Man almost wanted to reach out and give Wiggles a hug. Deep down inside Vinny was impressed how the hellion had conjured up a clever way to put him away for 10 years. If Wiggles recognized his 7th grade math teacher in any way, he sure didn't show it.
"I'm here to sell of course. I've got some pretty good stuff here that would keep your customers coming back for sure." Said Vinny stifling a laugh.
Wiggles crooked his head a little and noticed the black back pack on his shoulders. The front door closed temporarily and he could hear a chain being unlatched. This time the door swung open wide and Wiggles motioned for him to come in.
The Gadget Man was truly amazed at how tall Wiggles had gotten over the years but the hoodlum was still skinny as a rail. Wiggles sported a red "Wutang" t-shirt which hung to his knees and a pair of South Pole jeans with most of its material hugging his ankles. He also wore a long golden chain necklace with a medallion the size of a beer coaster with the letters "O-G". Vinny surmised it might stand for "Original Gangster". He met some of those in prison and Wiggles surely wasn't one of them.
Vinny followed Wiggles into the cottage while keeping his right hand behind his back as they sauntered towards a coffee table covered with oodles of drug paraphernalia.
Wiggles took a razor blade belonging to a box cutter and cut out two equal lines of coke on the table and rerolled a hundred dollar bill. It was standard procedure with bonafide drug dealers to break bread first via drugs to weed out potential police officers. Honest cops were not apt to use drugs thus alarming drug dealers.
When Wiggles took the rolled up hundred dollar bill and shoved it up his bulbous nose, he was greeted by a shocking surprise. The Gadget Man held out a 9mm and pointed it directly at his former student. Wiggles immediately stood up and placed both of his hands in the air with the hundred dollar bill still jutting from his gargantuan nose.
While keeping steady aim, Vinny removed his bicycle helmet with his left hand and tossed it onto the floor. Wiggles had to bite his tongue to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't.
"I don't believe this! This isn't possible! I watched the news this morning, you like...died man!" He said biting his tongue once again to be sure.
"Felix, Felix, Felix, why do they call you Wiggles?"
"Come on man, you know the answer to that, cuz I can't sit still for just one minute. Don't you remember?"
A half dressed 19 year old girl with a caramel complexion appeared from the hallway and approached them.
"What in the h- oh my stars! He's got a gun!" She cried cupping her hands over her mouth. She wore a pair of tight fitting bell bottom jeans that weren't fully buttoned and a pink sports bra. Her hair looked like it had been pulled on. She said a silent prayer then placed her hands in the air. Vincent was so freakish looking and the last thing she wanted to do was piss him off.
"We don't want no problems sir. We're just two youngings trying to get our fair share of paper. We'll give you whatever you want." Said Patricia.
Vinny appeared very amused. "Oh... That's so cute, trying to get that paper. I take it you're Wiggles' girlfriend?"
She nodded her head up and down. Vinny continued playing the wise guy role.
"Well you sure know how to pick em. I'm sure he's quite the gentleman." Joked Vinny.
Patricia was finally sensing that this was about something more than a robbery. Vinny shifted his gaze towards a very petrified Wiggles and gave him a lovely smile.
"I don't think boo here knows me. Perhaps we forgot to tell sweetie about our skeletons in the closet?" He said not hiding his shark teeth.
Wiggles decided to play dumb and buy himself some time so he could plan his move. "Hey man I don't know you! You look like you escaped from a mental ward." He protested. A bead of sweat trickled down his wrinkly forehead.
"Oh sure..." Mocked Vinny, "And I guess I never shoved a broomstick up your rectum."
Patricia giggled at the thought of this. There was no way Wiggles would ever let someone do that to him. She finally interrupted them.
"Am I missing out on something here? A broomstick? What's this all about?"
Vinny tried to bring her up to speed as fast as he could, but he really didn't feel like re-telling the whole story. He gave her the gist of his side of the story and she looked completely enthralled. Evidently Wiggles had never mentioned all the antics he practiced as a kid.
The Gadget Man noticed a wooden chair along side the wall with old phone books stacked on top of it. He swatted the phone books onto the floor and placed the empty chair in the middle of the living room.
"Since you twos act like children and refuse to get real jobs like grown ups I thought we'd play my favorite childish game of musical chairs." He said with great delight.
Wiggles and Patricia were both frowning. They weren't in the mood for games.
"Come on! It'll be fun" insisted Vinny, "The one who sits in the chair first before the music stops gets to live." He said. He could tell by the looks on their faces that they already knew how the game was to be played. They both reluctantly stood on each side of the chair.
"What about the music?" Questioned Wiggles, "What are you going to use for music?"
Vinny was acting like the Joker from Batman. "How about my own voice? And why don't you shut up?" He chided.
Wiggles crossed his arms and looked at him leerily. Vincent ignored him and began singing the song that the voices inside his head prompted him to sing.
Surprisingly the Gadget Man began singing "Jesus Loves Me."